Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 203

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 203

Episode 203. Duel, Three Chances (2)

‘What the…?’

Bloodlust’s mind went completely blank.

At first, anger had surged when he declared he wouldn’t use a sword, and murderous intent had boiled over when he said he’d give her three attacks.

The thought of truly wanting to kill Gaon had filled her to the very top of her head.

But…

‘…They were all blocked.’

Bloodlust looked down at her own hands.

Hands that were still trembling slightly.

The fingertips that had been gripping the daggers just moments ago still felt numb.

Of course, they weren’t attacks she had given her all to. They were merely impulsive strikes she had swung in a fit of rage.

The fact that Gaon had blocked such attacks wasn’t particularly surprising in itself.

Sword Masters were ultimately beings who had reached the same realm. Therefore, it was natural that there would be no fundamental difference in skill, with victory determined only by compatibility and physical condition.

Blocking attacks with bare hands?

That was also surprising, but not to the point of shock.

Rather, she thought that anyone who had reached the realm of Sword Master should naturally possess such skill.

However.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

‘How did he do it?’

She couldn’t grasp at all how Gaon had blocked her attacks.

‘I definitely thrust the sword at a perfect angle…’

Bloodlust recalled the first exchange.

She had launched her body and aimed precisely at Gaon’s neck, but just before the blade reached its target, something strange happened.

A feeling as if some unknown force suddenly pushed the blade away. The attack’s trajectory was thrown off as if it had hit an invisible wall.

The second was even more bizarre.

The moment she swung her sword, her weapon was knocked into the air with a powerful impact that made her wrist tingle sharply.

‘…What exactly did he block it with?’

Bloodlust’s eyes swept over Gaon’s hands.

Clean palms.

Smooth skin without a single wound.

If they had clashed with swords, they should naturally be cut or wounded, but she couldn’t find even a scratch.

“…”

It was possible to block swords with hands.

Only if one was wrapped in aura, that is.

‘But…’

She couldn’t sense any energy from Gaon whatsoever.

If he had used mana or aura, there should definitely be lingering traces.

‘Could it be… really with bare hands…?’

Swoosh-.

Bloodlust’s gaze fixed on Gaon once more.

His figure standing leisurely in the middle of the training ground.

Just moments ago, she had regarded him as merely an arrogant newcomer, but now he somehow looked different.

It seemed like there was some secret hidden deep behind that calm expression.

Like a deep lake – the surface was quiet, but one couldn’t know what slumbered at the bottom.

The unknown.

The fact that she couldn’t know anything further fueled her fear of Gaon.

‘Damn it…’

Crack-.

Bloodlust gritted her teeth.

Her fangs lightly scraped the inside of her lips, spreading a metallic taste in her mouth.

She found herself pathetic for being flustered like this.

Whatever trick he had used, didn’t it ultimately mean he was a step above her?

‘…No.’

Bloodlust shook her head back and forth.

It wasn’t over yet.

One last chance remained.

This time, she wouldn’t be swept away by emotions – it was time to show her real skill.

‘Let’s do this properly.’

Swoooosh-.

Bloodlust’s eyes flashed dangerously.

Dark blue veins began to stand out on her pale skin, and the murderous aura unique to a bloodthirsty beast began emanating from her entire body.

Kuuuuung-!

At the same time, the space began to grow heavy.

That eerie energy that only emerged when a vampire truly exerted their power pressed down on the entire training ground.

The spectators instinctively held their breath. They too sensed that a real fight was about to begin.

“Huu, huuuk.”

Bloodlust breathed roughly as she gripped the two blood-red daggers tightly again.

Calm eyes.

It was different from before when she had been swept away by emotion and launched reckless attacks.

Crimson aura began rising from the blade edges.

“This time…”

Crackcrackcrack-!

Bloodlust lowered her stance, preparing to leap.

As power concentrated in her lower body, the training ground floor cracked slightly.

At that moment, something hot began boiling in Bloodlust’s blood vessels. Her pale skin gradually flushed red, and the veins throughout her body stood out darkly.

Her heart began beating frantically. Pumping at several times its normal speed, it pushed hot blood to every corner of her body.

Her muscles expanded and her bones hardened.

It was the moment when the vampire’s primal wildness awakened.

“…I’ll finish this for sure!”

Kwaaaang-!

Bloodlust’s body shot forward like a crimson arrow.

Her reddened eyes, even in the midst of this, were aimed only at Gaon’s heart.

‘Got it!’

With her physical abilities raised to their limits, her speed was on a completely different level than before.

A certain killing blow.

Bloodlust was confident.

This time, she would definitely be able to kill Gaon.

The daggers in both hands, gripped in reverse, flashed toward Gaon’s chest. Perfect angle, perfect timing.

It was a lethal strike that couldn’t be dodged or blocked.

And…

Kwaddddddeuk──!

…Bloodlust’s thoughts were perfectly correct.

“Huh?”

The only problem was that they were too perfectly correct.

“W-wait a minute.”

The dull yet wet sound of a dagger piercing through skin. The sensation of warm liquid flowing down along the wrist.

Something hot and red began pouring profusely over Bloodlust’s bare feet.

Drip, drip-.

One drop, two drops.

The red liquid falling at an increasingly rapid pace began forming a small puddle on the cold floor.

“Huh? Wh-what? What’s happening?”

Bloodlust’s mind went completely blank.

“Sh-shit…! No…! What is this…!”

Bloodlust panicked while gripping the sword handle. Her hands trembled violently.

“N-no! What, what’s this! Shit! You were blocking just fine until now, so why suddenly stop defending! Are you kidding me?!”

Right then, commotion began stirring around them.

“L-Lady Bloodlust…!”

Some Paladin pointed at the training ground and shouted.

“Lady Bloodlust has killed Lord Gaon!”

Murmur murmur-.

Voices of shock and horror erupted among the spectators filling the training ground.

No one had anticipated such a situation.

“Lord Gaon has been murdered!”

“N-no! I didn’t…!”

Bloodlust desperately shook her head.

Her flushed red skin instantly turned pale again.

Haa, ha-.

Gaon’s breathing gradually grew shallower.

Seeing this, Bloodlust’s pupils shook mercilessly.

“I-I didn’t mean to kill Gaon…! I really didn’t…!”

It was a lie.

It had been an attack launched with the intent to kill.

But even so, she hadn’t actually expected Gaon to die.

After all, he had blocked her attacks twice with his bare hands.

How could such an opponent be defeated so futilely?

“H-healer!”

Then, suddenly coming to her senses, Bloodlust shouted urgently.

“What are the healers doing! Come quickly and treat him! Hurry!”

Bloodlust shouted desperately.

But the priests standing at the edge of the training ground couldn’t take a single step forward.

They all just watched the situation with pale faces.

In truth, their feelings were understandable.

No matter how much it was called a duel, this had been a sparring match.

Yet she had just plunged a sword into a fellow Sword Master’s heart.

How many would willingly approach such a madwoman?

Even Bloodlust wouldn’t have easily mustered courage if she were in their position.

“Hey, you bastards…!”

But that was that, and this was this.

Bloodlust screamed while holding Gaon, whose breathing grew increasingly shallow.

“Come here right now and heal him!”

Right at that moment.

Kuuuuuuuuung──!

A suffocating killing intent felt from behind.

“…!”

Goosebumps rose all over Bloodlust’s body. A chill climbing up her spine reached the crown of her head, and for a moment all her senses seemed paralyzed.

Her vision went dark.

As if thrown alone into the middle of the deep sea, everything around her was dyed pitch black. Her muscles froze throughout her body, creating the illusion that even her blood flow had stopped.

It was death.

That absolute terror embedded itself deep in her brain and devoured all reason.

‘Th-this is…!’

She couldn’t breathe or think. Only instinct screamed.

To run. To hide. To somehow escape from this place.

It was when that overwhelming pressure completely crushed Bloodlust.

“Three.”

Right at that moment.

As a cold and calm voice echoed from behind, that terrible panic disappeared like magic.

“…?”

Slowly-.

Bloodlust slowly turned her head.

A man with clear and sharp features stood there.

His dark blue hair swayed gently in the breeze.

Golden eyes revealed between the strands looked down at her.

Gaon.

The Thirteenth Sword Master stood there. And in perfectly fine condition at that.

A clean body without a single wound. Clothes without a single wrinkle. Even his breathing was completely undisturbed.

‘Wh-what…?’

Swish-.

Bloodlust slowly looked down at her arms.

Just moments ago, Gaon had been here dying while coughing up blood…

There wasn’t even a trace.

No pool of blood, no torn clothing, no evidence whatsoever.

‘…A hallucination?’

No.

It had been too realistic for that.

Gaon had definitely died in her arms. With a sword piercing his heart, coughing up blood.

Even the warm sensation of blood had been vivid, yet all of that was fake?

It didn’t make sense.

Bloodlust’s mind filled with confusion. She couldn’t understand at all what that had been just now, or what this current situation was.

“…?”

Tap-.

Then, something cold touched the back of her neck.

Gaon had lightly touched her neck with his sheathed sword.

“If this had been real combat.”

Gaon’s voice quietly echoed in her ear.

His voice was still calm. As if nothing had happened.

“You would have died here, vampire.”

* * *

Perfect.

Everything flowed exactly according to the scenario I had envisioned.

Bloodlust sat collapsed in the middle of the training ground, completely dazed, while the spectators were frozen, unable to even open their mouths.

Using the Formless Sword to make it appear as if I had deflected the blade with bare hands, then using Avatar Manifestation and ultimate killing intent to completely shake Bloodlust’s soul.

Even thinking about it again, it was perfect execution.

If Strawberry Latte had been next to me, wouldn’t she have given me a seal clap?

‘She should watch this and learn something from it….’

Anyway.

I checked the notification window that appeared in one corner of my vision.

Ding-!

〔Skill: 【Formless Sword 】 proficiency has increased. (12%→13%)〕

〔Skill: 【Avatar Manifestation 】 proficiency has increased. (10%→11%)〕

‘…Since it’s still the early stages, it’s growing rapidly.’

The two skills that played decisive roles in this duel had grown. Thanks to Bloodlust, their proficiency had each increased by one level.

But this growth rate would also slow down at some point. It would be better to raise them as quickly as possible before then.

Having finished that thought, I looked down at Bloodlust, who still couldn’t get her bearings, and said.

“Do you want to try more?”

Bloodlust, who had been staring up at me blankly, chuckled and then bowed her head deeply.

“Ha….”

She obediently admitted it.

“…I lost. You take the top spot.”

When I glanced around, Jeungmu, who had been standing among the spectators, was also looking at me as if truly impressed.

In Jeungmu’s gaze visible beyond his monocle was pure admiration.

‘With this.’

I had gained recognition from more than half of the Sword Masters.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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